The present invention relates to a winding machine for winding at least one yarn, as well as a method of controlling such a winding machine.
In the production of synthetic multifilament yarns, the yarns are each wound, after spinning and drawing, to a package by means of winding machines. Winding machines of this kind, as are known, for example, from EP 0 460 546 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,072, comprise one or more winding spindles, which mount one or more winding tubes for receiving the packages. In these winding machines, the winding spindle is driven such that the circumferential speed of the package being wound is the same as the speed of the advancing yarn. To realize very high speeds of the advancing yarn, which may amount to more than 10,000 m/min in high-speed spinning processes, it is necessary that, depending on the diameter of the package, the winding spindle operate at very high rotational speeds, in particular at the start of the package winding. While the spindle speed decreases during the winding operation, the enlarging packages will lead to a considerable dead load. It is therefore necessary to withstand stresses, which come very close to the limits of material strength, and lead to considerable wear and tear in particular in sliding pairs. The consequence of such high speeds of the advancing yarn is that they limit the service life of components, which are rotatably driven in a winding machine.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to further develop a winding machine of the described type such that rotatably driven components of the winding machine are prevented from being overloaded despite the very high winding speeds.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of controlling the winding machine, which ensures regular maintenance of wearing components.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a yarn winding machine and method which comprises a plurality of components rotatably mounted on a machine frame, a drive for rotatably driving each of the components, a controller for controlling each of the drives, and a data module associated with at least one of the components. The data module is connected to the controller so as to be writable and/or readable by the controller.
The special advantage of the invention lies in that as a result of associating a data module to the rotatably driven machine component, it is possible to identify the component in the winding machine and to thus use it in a controlled manner during the operating time. In this connection, there exists the possibility that on the one hand data stored in the data module can be read and evaluated directly by the controller, or that the controller stores in the data module parameters that occurred during the operating time of the component. Such data may thus be taken from the data module while performing maintenance work.
A special advantage of the invention also lies in that after completion of maintenance, the data contained in the data module are also taken into account, when the component is reused.
In a particularly advantageous further development of the winding machine according to the invention, the data module is designed and constructed with storage capabilities for the purpose of receiving data. In this instance the data stored in the memory of the data module are readable by the controller. This permits recording a data set in the data module of the component for each winding cycle. Thus, it is possible to store in the data module without a gap the service life of the component in the form of data. In this connection, suitable data include machine unit data, function data and/or operating data. Machine unit data may indicate, for example, the diameter of the winding spindle. Information about the number of spinning positions in the winding machine could be contained in the function data. With the operating data, it becomes possible to predetermine in the data module the maximally allowable operating adjustments, such as maximum speed or maximum dead load. Thus, the data set is formed in the data module from permanently stored data, variable data, as well as data that are constantly added during the service life of the component. Reading and writing of the data sets occur via the respective controller of the winding machine.
To be able to store operating data that are relevant for the service life of the component, a sensor arrangement connected to the controller may be provided for gathering operating data that are realized by the component. Thus, for example, in the case of a winding spindle, it is possible to measure its rotational speed, and to compute therefrom accordingly within the controller the load cycles performed by the component.
To be able to use the component after its maintenance in any winding machine, the data module may be permanently joined to the component, so that an exchange of the component occurs only together with the data module.
To connect the data module to the controller, it is advantageous to provide a plug-in connection, which is simple to disengage and engage.
The data module, which preferably is a microchip having small dimensions, may advantageously be integrated in a winding spindle or a contact roll. However, there exists likewise the possibility of linking such a data module with other components, which are subjected to wear and tear and should be serviced at regular intervals during the service life of a winding machine.
The method of the present invention distinguishes itself in that the component operated in the winding machine is operated in a controlled manner and not in a manner exceeding material limits. In this process, the data set associated to the component is read in the data module for purposes of controlling the drive of the component as a function of the read data. This ensures that, for example, a predetermined maximum speed of the component is not exceeded.
The method of the invention also has the special advantage that the operating data realized by the component during the operating time will always be available. To this end, thes data are gathered during the operating time and stored as a data set in the data module.
To prevent an overload of the particular component in the winding machine, it is especially advantageous to use an embodiment of the method wherein the operating data contain information regarding the allowable load cycles. The allowable load cycles Lmax are stored in the data module, and are read by the controller. During the operation of the winding machine, the performed load cycles LA are acquired and compared with the allowable load cycles Lmax. In the event that the performed load cycles LA exceed the number of the allowable load cycles Lmax, an alarm signal will be generated, and the machine is shut down. However, it is also possible that a lower limit value is predetermined in addition to the maximally allowable load cycles. In the event that the completed load cycles exceed the tolerance limit, it would be likewise possible to generate an alarm signal, which results, however, only in a maintenance and in no machine shutdown.
It is also possible that after a prescribed maintenance of the component, the stored data of the data module either acquire this maintenance simultaneously in terms of data or that they are reset by a change (for example, a reset) to a predetermined value.
The winding machine of the present invention and method of controlling such a winding machine according to the invention are especially suited for winding in spin processes a yarn at very high yarn speeds of more than 8,000 m/min. In this connection, the controller of the winding machine is advantageously connected to a spinning line controller, so as to permit corresponding interventions in the process control of the spinning line, when a machine is shut down.